Russia's largest mobile operator MTS (MTSS.MM) said on Tuesday that it has started selling discounted and second-hand smartphones because of inflation and Western brands suspend shipments for Russia. Consumers offer cheaper alternatives.
Apple suspended all product sales in Russia in early March, and sales of Chinese smartphone brands doubled in Russia in the first two weeks of March, according to the Russian newspaper Kommersant.
Now, MTS offers smartphones from Chinese brands Huawei, Honor and Xiaomi, as well as South Korean brand Samsung, for 50% less than new products . MTS said the brands and sales locations offered will expand.
"This is a great opportunity for our company to offer consumers an additional way to save money on quality products," said Pavel Sukhovarov, head of retail web development at MTS. Buy used phones at cheap prices.”
The inflation in Russia hovers above 17%, and MTS sells discounted phones that include products returned within two weeks or with defective packaging and come with a 90-day warranty . MTS reported that first-quarter net profit fell 76.2% year-on-year to 3.9 billion rubles (about 445 million yuan), partly due to higher interest rates.
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